What happened to the leaders who either joined, or were marginalized, the exercise of the Third Front?

Year 2024. Lok Sabha elections were about to be held in the country. In the two elections of 2014 and 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won with a huge majority. Congress was marginalized in both the elections. In 2014, Congress won 44 seats, in 2019 52 seats. In politics, the heads of regional parties started feeling that now the journey of Congress is zero, there is no future for Congress, so the efforts for a third front started. This third front was not happening outside the Congress, but within the ambit of the Congress-led alliance.

Be it Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Yadav in Bihar or the then Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, they had refused to accept Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as their leader. Rahul Gandhi also faced taunts and protests. From Bihar, West Bengal to Tamil Nadu, many leaders had reservations about being under the Congress-led ‘India Alliance’. Mamata Banerjee was the most vocal voice. He did not like being a junior associate of Congress.

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Let us know what happened to those leaders who tried the most for Third Front but achieved nothing –

Mamata Banerjee had to lead ‘India’, TMC could not save it

She remained in power continuously for 1.5 decades in West Bengal. One of the strongest leaders. She was once in Congress but later formed her own party. Mamata Banerjee never accepted Rahul Gandhi as a leader. In December 2024 itself, he had clearly said that if he cannot lead properly then he should hand over this responsibility. Mamata Banerjee herself wanted to lead this front.

In the years 2014 and 2019, Mamata Banerjee had gained lead in West Bengal even after the strong wave of BJP. 34 TMC MPs were elected in 2014, 22 in 2019 and 29 in 2024. Mamta Banerjee felt that she would now lead the country. She started moving forward on the path of Ekala Chalo. When assembly elections were held in 2026, he got a big shock. On May 4, Didi left power in West Bengal. Now 58 MLAs of his party have rebelled, he has the support of only 20 MLAs.

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Nitish Kumar: Had claim to be PM, resigned from CM post also

After Mamata Banerjee, one name which was discussed a lot was Nitish Kumar. Nitish Kumar was the pivot of Bihar politics. He remained in power in Bihar continuously since 2005. On August 9, 2022, he again broke the alliance with BJP and became the leader of India Bloc. Met Mamata Banerjee, veterans from across the country supported her.

Within 5 months, he realized that he had made a mistake again, left India Block and returned to NDA. On January 28, 2024, he announced that he is a part of NDA and will never form an alliance with RJD again. Assembly elections were held in Bihar in November 2025, Nitish Kumar resigned from his post on 14 April 2026. Nitish Kumar, who initiated the Third Front, is no longer even the Chief Minister. Samrat Chaudhary, who was his deputy, is taking charge of the state.

Chandra Babu Naidu has now become a true friend of BJP.

Chandra Babu Naidu used to talk the most about the Third Front. Since 1990, he started working for a non-BJP and non-Congress front. Even just before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he had tried unsuccessfully to unite the opposition parties but could not achieve success. People did not accept him as a leader, the responsibility of leadership of the opposition remained with the Congress despite being weak.

The dominance of the Bharatiya Janata Party increased to such an extent that it gave priority to practical politics. This exercise was completely stopped. Minority BJP is in power in 2024 because Chandra Babu Naidu has given his support under the NDA alliance. His party, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is part of the NDA alliance.

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HD Deve Gowda, staunch opponent but now an unwavering ally of NDA

Achi Deve Gowda has been the Prime Minister. He is the oldest face of the Third Front. His party, Janata Dal Secular’s biggest enmity was always with BJP, when the HD Kumaraswamy-led government in Karnataka was toppled on 23 July 2019. Congress and Janata Dal secular coalition government was in Karnataka. He has been an MP in Rajya Sabha since 2020 but is now in a weak condition. His party is part of NDA. On 22 September 2023, this party joined the NDA alliance. His son HD Kumaraswamy is now a Union Minister.

Who are the other faces who are expected from the third front?

Samajwadi Party, headed by Akhilesh Yadav, is the second largest opposition party in Parliament after Congress. He strives for opposition unity, remains with Congress but if ever an opposition government is formed, he will play an important role. His craze in UP politics has not diminished. His party has won 37 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Mayawati has been a leader who was indifferent to the Third Front but is now politically marginalized. She has contested the elections alone. His party’s support base has been continuously declining since 2012. The Left parties are so weak that they cannot launch a third front on their own.